Ecology Flashcards
What is the process heterotrophs use to convert the sugar in food to a more readily usable form of energy?
Cellular respiration
Abiotic
The nonliving parts of an ecosystem eg physical surroundings
Population
A group of the same species together at a particular time
What do plants do with the suns energy?
They convert the solar energy into stored chemical energy in the form of sugars
What is an example of a second order consumer?
Snake
Community
When a population of species is living with another population of species eg cat and mouse
Producer
Captures light energy and use it to convert inorganic materials into organic matter eg plants
What is the difference between a food web and chain?
A food chain is one series of animals, a food web is made up of lots of food chains put together
What are decomposers essential for?
Recycling the elements in the Earth
What is the ultimate source of energy?
The sun
Autotroph
Producer. Does not feed on other organisms (self feeders).
Organisms that make their own organic molecules, including glucose, from in organic molecules, includes photosynthetic and chemosynthetic organisms.
Consumer
Animals unable to make their own food, obtain nutrition from consuming other organisms
What is the chemical equation for cellular respiration?
Oxygen + glucose ➡ carbon dioxide + water
ATP
Decomposer
Eat dead material eat definitely real by secreting enzymes and absorbing the broken down products. E.g. fungi, bacteria.
What will a population of species compete for?
Food, shelter, mates
What is the chemical equation for photosynthesis?
Carbon dioxide + water sunlight/chlorophyll = oxygen + glucose
What is an example of a food chain?
Plant ➡ rabbit ➡ fox
Does cellular respiration occur in both plants and animals?
Yes
Scavengers
Organisms that eat the remains of dead and decomposing animals
What does a food web show?
The relationship between members of an ecological community
Heterotroph
(Consumer) Animals unable to make their own food (other feeders)
Carnivore
Eats other animals, known as secondary and tertiary consumers
What is the order of a food web?
Producer ➡ 1st order consumer ➡ 2nd order consumer ➡ 3rd order consumer
What is an example of a third order consumer?
Owl
How much energy goes from one level of the pyramid to the next?
10%
What is the energy from each level that is not passed on to the next wasted on?
Movement, heat and chemical processes
What is an example of a chemical process?
Cellular respiration and body processes.
What can there not be 6 tropic levels of an energy pyramid?
Because there would not be enough energy for all the levels.
Where does the first level of the energy pyramid get its energy from (the producers)?
The sun
What is an example of a 1st order consumer?
Rabbit
What is an example of a species being introduced?
Rabbits
They eat the grass
They are competition for other animals so there is less food for they others
Predator prey relationship
The preying of one animal on others. One animals benefits to the injury of the other
What do competitors compete for?
The same resources, food, shelter and mates
Herbivores
Eats plants known as primary consumers
What part of the body does cellular respiration occur?
In cells
Symbiotic relationship parasite/host
Organisms living together, depend on each other.
What are 2 examples of scavengers?
Hyenas and vultures
What is an example of a predator prey relationship?
Tiger and antelope
What is an example of competition?
When there is a shortage of rain =
Less grass =
Cows compete
What is an example of a parasitism relationship?
A tick on a cows fur
Living off its blood
It’s causes damage to the cow
However it can still survive
Parasitism
The relation between two different kinds of organisms in which one receives benefits from the other by causing damage to it, although not fatal damage.
What does ATP do?
Stores energy
Introduced species
A species that has been released in an ecosystem in which it does not occur naturally.
What are tropic levels?
The energy levels
What are examples of parasitism?
Worms and ticks
What do introduced animals and plants cause?
Disturbs natural food chains and webs
Omnivore
Eats both plants and animals
What are plant producers known as?
Photo - autotrophs
What is are two examples of decomposers?
Bacteria and fungi
Ecosystem
Made up of living (biotic) parts, such as communities of organisms, and non living (abiotic) parts, such as the physical surroundings.
What is an example of a producer?
Plants
Biotic
The living part of an ecosystem eg animals
What is are 2 examples of decomposers?
Fungi and bacteria
Mammals
Produce milk and have fur/hair
Biodiversity
The variety of all life forms - the different plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms and the genes that they contain
Classification
The science of placing organisms into groups based on shared features
Bacteria
Prokaryotes that live on or in humans, other animals and plants, soil and water, and occur in environments of moderate conditions
Archaea
Prokaryotes that includes types that can live at high temperatures, in acidic or very salty environments
Eukarya - eukaryotes
Organisms with cells that have a nucleus surrounded by a membrane
Vertebrates
Have a backbone eg mammals
Invertebrates
No backbone
Motile
Move
Hyphae
Thread like structures in fungi that spread through the organism being fed on
Pathogenic
Capable of producing disease
Endothermic
Can maintain their own body temperature eg.humans/mammals
Ectothermic
An organisms which relies on the external environment for body temperature eg. Snake
Obligate intercellular parasites
Cannot replicate outside a host cell = non living
Sessile
Non moving
Prokaryotes
Do not have membrane bound organelles or a nucleus
Protista
One of the three kingdoms of eukaryotic organisms
Predator
Carnivores tags catch live prey
Parasite
Live and feed on the surface of or in other organisms
Detritivore
Eats small particles of dead plants and animal organic matter and waste products like dung. Eg worm
Competition
A number of organisms compete for a limited resource eg. Food, mates, shelter, habitat, space
Inter species competition
Several different species compete for eg. Habitat
Intra species competition
Meme ears of the same species compete for eg. Mates
Exploitation
1 species benefits at the expense of an other
Biosphere
The narrow belt around the earth that contains all the living things
Biome
A broad life zone eg. Tropical, aquatic
Diurnal
Active during the day
Nocturnal
Active during the night
Crepuscular
Active during dawn & dusk
Niche
Describes the way of life of a species/population, in an ecosystem
Food chain
A series of links between different organisms in ecosystems based on feeding relationships
Ectoparasite
A parasite that live ON the host
Endoparasite
A parasite that lives IN its host
Mutualism
Both organisms in the relationship benefit eg. Lichen = fungi & algae
Commensalism
One organism benefits and the other does not but is not harmed eg. A spider building a web on a tree
Amensalism
One species is inhibited or killed and one is unaffected eg. A sapling growing under a mature tree
Food web
A series of interactive food chains
Organic molecules
Molecules with carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and is made by living things eg. Lipids, carbs, protein
Photoastroph
Use light energy to make organic molecules in the process called photosynthesis (Photo = light)
Chemoautotroph
Use energy from chemicals to make their own organic molecules. (Chemo-chemicals) (autotroph-self-feeder)
Biomass
The total dry weight of an organism.
Tropic level
Place in the food chain e.g. Produces first trophic levels.
Bioaccumulation/biomagnification
A nonbiodegradable substance accumulates in higher concentrations in a higher trophic levels.
Eutrophication
Nutrient pollution in waterways leads to Algal balloons. Algae and other plants die, decomposes thrive but use lots of oxygen. Fish die due to depleted oxygen levels. Accelerated ageing of waterways.
